The First To Fall
by ThnksFrThMmrs87
Summary: Danny realizes that for him and Lindsay to have a chance, someone has to fall.


Disclaimer—I don't own the CSI: NY characters and the story and title are based on the wonderful Terry Clark song, First to Fall

Note From the Author— I realize that this isn't my usual flavor but the story was rattling around in my head and I couldn't seem to make it go away. You'll notice that I couldn't help but include a little Stella Flack interaction amongst the Danny and Lindsay goodness. Enjoy!

When looking at his life, Danny Messer felt that by all accounts he should be blissfully happy. He had a job he loved, in a city he loved, and he was with the girl of his dreams. However, though the thoughts felt mildly traitorous, he couldn't shake the feeling that some piece of the puzzle was still missing; and it all had to do with that girl of his dreams.

Lindsay Monroe had waltzed into his life and things had never been the same. He'd stuck it out through her hesitancy, and it had paid off in the end. The night they'd finally gotten together was permanently etched in his memories in vivid color; he still had a hard time suppressing a grin whenever he walked by his pool table. Things had moved on from there, and they were good. But things were also somewhat superficial. They went out on a regular basis; the sex was amazing. All in all they were having a fantastic time, but Danny constantly found himself wanting more.

He'd always been vaguely commitment phobic that was no secret to anybody. But with Lindsay he found, for the first time in his life, someone who really and truly mattered to him. He found himself spiraling farther into love every day, and it wasn't long before he was head over heels for her. Danny had a feeling that she felt the same, but she still held a part of herself back from him. Lindsay had come so far since she'd come to New York, but she still couldn't seem to make that final leap, and he had yet to tell her exactly how he felt.

Standing in trace Danny took off his glasses and rubbed his hands over his face. All of this had been swirling around in his head all day long. He couldn't stop the thoughts from popping up no matter how he tried, and any solution he came up with had the potential effect of pushing Lindsay away.

Cursing under his breath he slipped his glasses back on. "Wake up Messer." He was scared of what could happen; well that was just too bad for him. In that moment he felt his resolve solidify. Life was scary, the possibility of pushing Lindsay away was scary, but if he didn't tell her how he felt everything could fall apart.

Lindsay was standing with Stella and Flack looking over a file when Danny came up to them. "Hey Danny what's…." She trailed off when she saw his face. "What's going on?"

"I need to say something."

She shot him a curious look. "Okay."

He nodded. "Okay. I'm in love with you Montana."

"Danny…"

"Let me get this out. I love you, and I'm pretty sure you love me too, but you're still holding back. We've got something amazing here Montana. I have never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. I feel like I could spend the rest of my life with you if you'd have me. I've been around enough to know that things could fall apart down the road, there's always that chance. But if you never give it a chance we'll never know. If we've got any chance, someone's gotta be the first to fall." He reached for her and pulled her easily into his arms to kiss her slowly and thoroughly. "I guess that's me. I love you Montana; think about it."

He let her go, turned, and walked away. Lindsay was left to stand there shell shocked. Behind her, Stella and Flack watched as she swayed a little before steadying herself. "Did he really just…?"

Flack nodded. "He really did."

"Oh." Her eyes widened and she turned. "Oh!" In an instant she was off and running in the direction Danny had gone.

Stella and Flack were left to stand there in their coworkers' wake, surprised at the show they'd just witnessed. Shaking his head, Flack turned to look at Stella and his eyes widened as the corners of his mouth turned up. "Stell, are you crying?"

She looked up at him and sure enough there were tears shining in her eyes. "Oh come on it was sweet." He opened his mouth to say something and could only chuckle. However the laughter didn't last long as all of the wind blew out of him when she smacked him in the stomach.

Downstairs Danny leaned against the building, trying to catch his breath. With everything he'd ever faced, he never thought that telling Lindsay how he felt would rate as one of the scariest things he'd ever do. It didn't matter what he'd ever thought, he'd been absolutely terrified. Pulling his glasses off, he closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. It didn't help all that much, but he kept breathing in the cool night air.

Lindsay hit the doors at a dead run and she almost ran right past Danny. She caught him out of her peripheral vision and came to a screeching halt. "Danny."

He looked up quickly and put his glasses back on. "Montana."

She nodded at him. "You're right, I've been holding back. But I'm done holding back. You may have been the first to fall, but at least I wasn't far behind. I love you Danny."

"I was hoping you'd say that," he said with a grin.

"So, you going to kiss me Messer?" she asked.

He nodded solemnly. "It'd only be fitting." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her possessively. When he pulled away he looked her straight in the eye. "No going back Montana."

Lindsay shook her head. "No going back."

He took her hand and they walked together back into the building. "Good, that's real good."


End file.
